Hurleys haul Castlehaven past Rathgormack and into Munster final

Rathgormack 1-07 Castlehaven 1-16

Brian and Michael Hurley starred for Castlehaven as James McCarthy's side kept their bid for a first Munster crown in 26 years alive with a deserved win against Waterford champions Rathgormack.

Castlehaven struck seven points without response before the half-time break, which proved crucial as the Waterford side never regained their early momentum and the Cork men advance to a provincial decider against An Daingean in a fortnight's time.

A huge travelling contingent made the long trip from West Cork to West Waterford, as Castlehaven looked to build on their extra-time victory over Cratloe, while the Waterford champions were seeking to become the first Déise side to reach the provincial decider since 2016.

In the absence of the suspended Michael Curry, injured Cathal Crowch and travelling talisman Conor Murray, Rathgormack faced an uphill task before the whistle had blown.

Jason Curry had an early free drop into the hands of Darragh Cahalane as both sides got to grips with conditions and it was Rathgormack who struck first, youngster Adam Murray’s sweet strike creeping over the crossbar on five minutes.

The three-time Munster champions soon responded with a fine score of their own, Michael Hurley swivelling and firing between the posts to bring proceedings level.

The game’s opening goal arrived on eight minutes. Stephen Curry and Billy Power combined, the latter firing low and hard into the far-left corner to boost momentum for the underdog cause.

Kenny Hassett’s men were determined in defence, winning a multitude of turnovers, and tensions were high in the opening exchanges. A number of wides followed for Castlehaven, all of which were well received by the home crowd.

A Jason Gleeson free moved